A millimeter wave is a special electromagnetic wave whose frequency lies in between 3 GHz to 300 GHz, falling far beyond the frequency range of commonly used wireless technologies. Though originally electromagnetic waves with frequencies above 80 GHz were termed as microwaves and waves with even higher frequencies as radio waves, with commercialization of this technology, the demarcation between frequencies has blurred over the past decade. Majority of the applications involve millimeter waves with frequencies lying between 20 GHz and 120 GHz as of 2013.

The low range and narrow beam of millimeter waves have made it ideal for having little or no interference between neighboring links, even in urban environments. This has made the interception of the Millimeter waves signal very difficult or nearly impossible. Thus in telecommunications, MM Waves technology is an alternative to fiber-optics, in terms of speed and performance, but at a low cost. Today, mobile base-station industry is rapidly incorporating MM Waves technology in small-cell equipment, due to advanced features offered by millimeter waves, and this trend has taken a steep upward curve, with the global LTE boom in 2012-2013.

The global millimeter wave technology market revenue is expected to reach $116 million by end of 2013 is expected to grow to $1.1 billion in 2018 at a CAGR of 59.10%. Similarly, volumes are estimated to grow from roughly 11.8 thousand units to more than 360 thousand units in 2018. This growth is heralded by the growing telecommunication applications market for millimeter wave technology, especially in the fields of small cell and macro-cell mobile backhaul. The millimeter wave scanners & imaging systems market is also expected to grow rapidly in the coming five years with shift of scanning & security industry towards MM Wave technology from competing technologies such as X-ray backscatter technology.

The Total Addressable Market (TAM) for mm wave technology has been calculated by the addition of the TAMs for each of the application markets and is estimated to grow from $4.77 billion in 2013 to $10.56 billion in 2018. Thus the market penetration of millimeter wave technology in its total addressable market stands at 2.44% in 2013 and is expected to grow to 11.23% by 2018, showing a market penetration of roughly 9% over the next five years.

When geographical markets North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Rest of the World are considered, North America has the major share in the market with expected revenue of $roughly 48 million in 2013. The CAGR of the market’s primary base - North America, for the period 2013 to 2018 is calculated to be 56.77%. Europe and Asia Pacific are the fastest growing regions, with expected CAGRs of 60.51% and 61.13% respectively from 2013 to 2018, due to the major growth spurts expected in the telecom sector in the developing countries in this region. LTE rollout is another major factor that is driving the millimeter wave technology markets in Europe and APAC.

The report, based on an extensive research study of the MM Wave technology market and the related semiconductor, component, product industries, is aimed at identifying the entire market of specifically the MM Wave products and MM Wave components in all the applications excluding digital consumer electronic applications. The report covers the overall market and sub-segment markets through extensively detailed classifications, in terms of both - revenue and shipments.

The report segments the MM Waves market on the basis of different types of components, different applications and different geographies. Further, it contains revenue forecasts, and analyses trends in the market. The geographical analysis contains the in-depth classification for Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Rest of the World regions, covering individual country-wise markets for MM Wave technology. The core qualitative analysis in the report would contain drivers, restraints, opportunities, current market trends and the technology expected to revolutionize the mmW domain.

In terms of products, the report’s scope is limited to MM Wave telecommunication equipment, MM Wave Scanners & Imaging systems, and MM Wave RADARs and Satellite Communication systems. Accessory and supporting devices, equipment or products such as Ethernet equipment, for example, are not included in the report scope. Moreover, in telecommunication equipment, the major product category considered in the market statistics calculations is MM Wave Radios for mobile-backhaul and enterprise & broadband applications.

The report’s purview of MM wave products encompasses the distinct fields of Mobile & Telecommunication products, Scanning & Imaging products, and RADAR & Satellite Communication products. All three product markets, due to the distinct nature of the fields in every aspect are analyzed separately, with sub-segmentation of the market in each category into sub-markets for every type of product available commercially. Growth rates and forecasts of each of the markets are analyzed with cross-comparisons in extensive detail to give a complete picture of MM Wave technology’s revenue potential.

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